I pulled my credit reports today. all 3. the scores are pretty bad but ive started taking steps into improvinh my score. i was able to get my mom to get a Macy’s card for me so ill use that to rebuild my score. I have sent a validation letter to Citibank earlier and im still waiting for a reply from them. i will be mailing out validation letters to other CAs tomorrow with CRRR. i also have letters that i will be mailing out to all CRAs becuase they got some old addresses and a few things wrong. this thread on credit boards has been very helpful
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14797
and this is the difference between validation and verification. i got confused for a minute so i was relieved to find this.
Send validation to the collection agency or original creditor, they have to prove that you owe the debt.
Send verification to the credit bureau, they have to check that the info they’re reporting is current and correct
and the other way round 
CRA: DISPUTE/REQUEST FOR VERIFICATION
CA/OC: REQUEST FOR VALIDATION
Here are the steps to take when you want to get on the journey to repairing your credit:
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=2&t=74982&st=0#entry561015
1) Opt-Out.
There is a phone # to call (which I’ve forgotten) to do this.
This keeps the CRA’s (Credit Reporting Agencies) from selling marketing lists which include your information. Helps keep the Popup-collections to a minimum.
2) Prepare a letter to each of the 3 CRA’s, TransUnion, Experian, Equifax asking them to delete all addresses/names other than your current one.
(Incorrect, never lived there, etc)
This takes away one method of verification when you dispute, if that negative is tied to that old address or name.
3) Prepare a listing of all negatives on each report, and gather details as best you can. Date it first went delinquent, date of last activity, etc. You will need these dates to figure the reporting period and if appropriate, when the legal SOL expires.
4) At this point, you might consider a "blanket" dispute of your negatives with the CRA’s. many people have luck with their initial dispute, the easy stuff gets deleted leaving fewer negatives to deal with later.
Results in 30 days, lol.
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This is a good time to do some reading.
Up to this point, the stuff you’ve done is pretty straightforward. From now on, a good understanding of the laws involved will serve you well.
Read the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and the FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Amendment) update.
Read the FDCPA.(Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)
Read your state laws regarding collections- in the "Consumer Protection" forum.
If you have questions regarding the meaning of something, search then ask here.
In order to use the laws, you have to understand them…
Once you have those down, smile! You know more than 99.9% of the collectors and CRA’s out there- which will work to your advantage.
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5) Now you’ll have to start making decisions.
For each negative left, you should consider:
a) Legal SOL.
Can they still sue you? If so, are you prepared to deal with that? Settle? Defend? Countersue?
Who is reporting.
If it’s a CA,(Collection Agency) you may consider a DV letter, or the 1-2 punch.
If it’s OC,(Original Creditor) you have goodwill letters or verification letters at your disposal.
c) age of the negative.
If its nearing the end of the 7-year reporting period, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all, other than dispute it with the CRA’s as "Obsolete".
As your report clears up, you’ll want to start adding positives to your report.
Initially, being added as an Authorized User is a good way to jumpstart a thin report.
And/Or a secured credit card. you keep your money!
Go with one of the Prime banks, National City, Chase, BankofAmerica, etc.
The nice thing about a secured card is
Avoid the offers of $300 credit for a $250 fee.
You could put the same $$ into a secured card- and keep it. Why throw cash away? lol….
These subprime card issuers can be (not all of them but some) loaded with "gotchas" which will defeat the purpose. You will outgrow them soon enough anyway.
Particularly avoid Cross Country bank and Aspire. Bad news. Run.
One day soon, you will find yourself in a position to pick your cards and loans…you’ll find approvals rolling in..
This can be a danger point for many people.
Avoid the temptation to run up balances on the cards!
It’s easy to do, the newfound freedom of having credit available seems to make purchases much easier, lol. Ask me!
You’ve worked hard at this point to repair and improve your credit.
Don’t undo your hard work by carrying high utilization, or worse- ending up in a situation where you cannot easily repay the cards.
Not saying you personally will do anything of the sort. Just a forewarning that that day is coming…and it’s an easy pitfall to succumb to.
